Shepherd to host historic windows restoration workshop April 5 and 6

ISSUED: 21 March 2014MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University will host a historic windows restoration workshop April 5 and 6. The Saturday, April 5 session will meet in White Hall room 104 from noon to 5 p.m. The Sunday, April 6 session will be at the Entler-Weltzheimer House on High Street across from White Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lynn Stasick, statewide field representative of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV), will conduct the hands-on workshop.

Shepherd University’s Historic Preservation and Public History Program received $1,000 from the Two RiversGiving Circle and a matching grant from the Historic Shepherdstown Commission to support the workshop.

The Entler-Weltzheimer House is the last remaining example of vernacular architecture in a modest part of Shepherdstown. It is important to the Shepherdstown community that the structure be preserved.

Over time, the house had become dilapidated. In 2011 Shepherd received $34,419 from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History for its restoration. Shepherd matched these funds and from 2011 to 2012 $68,838 was invested for major external renovations, including removal of a non-significant dormer, a new historically appropriate roof, new paint, and a significant interior repair and stabilization.

In 2013 the Phi Sigma Chi sorority, who used the house from 1948 to 1960, donated funds for a new railing in front of the house.

Now, the windows are in need of repair, ranging from complete rebuilding to paint removal and repainting. Boards still cover the window openings and the structure, while no longer an eyesore, still presents an unfinished appearance.

Windows have long been a bone of contention within historic preservation projects. For many years, environmentalists and preservationists butted heads over the issue of replacement windows that were thought to be more energy efficient versus restoring original windows. Concerns about lead paint also led to the drive to replace old windows rather than repair them. Recent best practices have shifted from window replacement to window restoration, retaining the original historical look and feel of the old glass and wood while keeping the energy invested in the original window fabrication. Moreover, weatherization updates can increase the energy efficiency of the window, and proper techniques can provide for lead abatement safely and reasonably. Nevertheless, historic wood windows continue to be removed and replaced unnecessarily. In most cases, property owners do not understand that it is possible to restore wood windows properly, safely, and affordably.

The PAWV workshop aims to educate the public about proper windows restoration and weatherization techniques while in the process of improving the appearance of the Entler-Weltzheimer House.

The workshop is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Keith Alexander at kalexand@shepherd.edu or 304-876-5309.